Packet data protocol context management for handover from cellular network to a femto cell

ABSTRACT

Packet data protocol (PDP) contexts are managed upon cellular-to-femto handover, wherein femto network has disparate capabilities to support applications with distinct access point names (APNs) and quality of service (QoS) profiles. Based at least on activity factors of applications associated with PDP contexts, a QoS-based ranking of PDP contexts, and subscriber input, cellular network platform selects active PDP contexts to retain and suspend upon handover. A group of active PDP contexts is handed off in accordance with femto coverage capability, with remaining active PDP contexts suspended during handover. When a suspended PDP context, and application associated therewith, is resumed through femto coverage, a PDP context modification is conducted with a new APN and the application is routed to a corresponding femto gateway node and application server. Additionally, femto network platform performs a radio access bearer reconfiguration to meet QoS requirements of the resumed PDP context.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The subject application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/276,717, entitled “PACKET DATAPROTOCOL CONTEXT MANAGEMENT FOR HANDOVER FROM CELLULAR NETWORK TO AFEMTO CELL,” filed on Nov. 24, 2008 and is related to co-pending, andcommonly assigned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/276,710, entitled“SELECTION OF PACKET DATA PROTOCOL CONTEXT FOR HANDOVER FROM CELLULARNETWORK TO FEMTO CELL,” filed on Nov. 24, 2008 The entirety of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject application relates to wireless communications and, moreparticularly, to packet data protocol (PDP) context management tofacilitate an adequate user experience when a mobile device is handedoff from cellular network service to a femto cell coverage.

BACKGROUND

Femto cells—building-based wireless access points interfaced with awired broadband network—are generally deployed to improve indoorwireless coverage, and to offload a mobility radio access network (RAN)operated by a wireless service provider. Improved indoor coverageincludes stronger signal and improved reception (e.g., voice or data),ease of session or call initiation, and session or call retention aswell. Offloading a RAN reduces operational and transport costs for theservice provider since a lesser number of end users utilizesover-the-air radio resources (e.g., radio frequency channels), which aretypically limited.

Coverage of a femto cell, or femto access point (AP), is generallyintended to be confined within the bounds of an indoor compound (e.g., aresidential or commercial building) in order to mitigate interferenceamong mobile stations covered by a cellular cell and terminals coveredby the femto AP. Additionally, confined coverage can reduce interferenceamong terminals serviced by disparate, neighboring femto cells as well.Femto cells typically operate in licensed portions of theelectromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-playinstallation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto AP subsequent tofemto cell subscriber registration with a service provider. Coverageimprovements regarding voice and/or data services with substantive delaysensitivity via femto cells can also mitigate customer attrition as longas a favorable subscriber perceived service experience is attained. Inaddition, a richer variety of wireless voice and data services can beoffered to customers via a femto cell since such service offerings donot rely primarily on mobility RAN resources.

Rich or superior subscriber experience when accessing service throughfemto cells depends at least in part on adequate handover performancewhen a mobile station moves from cellular, or macro, network coverage tofemto cell coverage. In particular, service retention during handoverand data deployment (e.g., routing) from the cellular network to thefemto cell depends at least on attachment to a proper femto cell accesspoint, and ensuing preservation of active service(s) like a voice callor data session initiated prior to handoff. It should be appreciatedthat handover performance can challenge subscriber experience in view ofuncovered performance issues during initial deployment. Specific aspectsto accomplish such retention of service(s) and thus ensure superior userexperience can be dictated at least in part by relative capabilities(such as packet data protocol support) of entities that manage femtocell service with respect to capabilities of a cellular networkplatform, and efficient management of such capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless environment that includes macro cells andfemto cells for wireless coverage in accordance with aspects describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system that facilitates PDPcontext management upon cellular-to-femto handover in accordance withaspects of the subject application.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a PDP contextmanagement component in accordance with aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile station that canselect PDP contexts to retain and suspend through cellular-to-femtohandover in accordance with aspects of the subject application.

FIG. 5 presents a flowchart of an example method for managing PDPcontexts during a cellular-to-femto handover of a mobile stationaccording to aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 presents a flowchart of an example method for selecting PDPcontexts to hand off during a cellular-to-femto handover according toaspects of the subject application.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method for utilization of active PDPcontexts during a cellular-to-femto handover according to aspectsdescribed in the subject specification.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method for injecting subscriberinput in management of PDP contexts during cellular-to-femto accordingto aspects of the subject application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject application is now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, thatthe present invention may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” “service,” “framework,” “interface,” “selector,” and thelike are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entityrelated to an operational machine with one or more specificfunctionalities. The entities disclosed herein can be either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration and not limitation, both an application running on a serverand the server can be a component. One or more components may residewithin a process and/or thread of execution and a component may belocalized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. Also, these components can execute from various computerreadable media having various data structures stored thereon. Thecomponents may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as inaccordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal).

In addition, within the subject specification, the term “or” is intendedto mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unlessspecified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs Aor B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Moreover,articles “a” and “an” as used in the subject specification and annexeddrawings should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform.

Moreover, terms like “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” andsimilar terminology, refer to a wireless device utilized by a subscriberor user of a wireless communication service to receive or convey data,control, voice, video, sound, gaming, or substantially any data-streamor signaling-stream. The foregoing terms are utilized interchangeably inthe subject specification and related drawings. Likewise, the terms“access point,” “base station,” “Node B,” “evolved Node B,” “home Node B(HNB),” and the like, are utilized interchangeably in the subjectapplication, and refer to a wireless network component or appliance thatserves and receives data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming, orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream from a set ofsubscriber stations. Data and signaling streams can be packetized orframe-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer,”“prosumer,” “agent,” and the like are employed interchangeablythroughout the subject specification, unless context warrants particulardistinction(s) among the terms. It should be appreciated that such termscan refer to human entities or automated components supported throughartificial intelligence (e.g., a capacity to make inference based oncomplex mathematical formalisms) which can provide simulated vision,sound recognition and so forth. As utilized herein, the term “prosumer”indicate the following contractions: professional-consumer andproducer-consumer.

In addition, the terms “wireless network” and “network” are employedinterchangeably in the subject application, when context wherein theterm is utilized warrants distinction for clarity purposes suchdistinction is made explicit. Likewise, the terms “femto cell accesspoint” and “femto access point” are also utilized interchangeably.

The subject application provides system(s) and method(s) to managepacket data protocol (PDP) contexts upon cellular-to-femto handover,wherein femto network has disparate capabilities to support applicationswith distinct access point names (APNs) and quality of service (QoS)profiles. Based at least on activity factors of applications associatedwith PDP contexts, a QoS-based ranking of PDP contexts, and subscriberinput, cellular network platform selects active PDP contexts to retainand suspend upon handover. A group of active PDP contexts is handed offin accordance with femto coverage capability, with remaining active PDPcontexts suspended during handover. When a suspended PDP context, andapplication associated therewith, is resumed through femto coverage, aPDP context modification is conducted with a new APN and the applicationis routed to a corresponding femto gateway node and application server.Additionally, femto network platform performs a radio access bearerreconfiguration to meet QoS requirements of the resumed PDP context.

Aspects, features, or advantages of the subject application can beexploited in handover events among substantially any wirelesscommunication technology; for example, Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX), Enhanced General Packet Radio Service(Enhanced GPRS), Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long TermEvolution (LTE), Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) UltraMobile Broadband (UMB), or High Speed Packet Access (HSPA).

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described. The followingdescription and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certainillustrative aspects of the invention. However, these aspects areindicative of but a few of the various ways in which the principles ofthe invention may be employed. Other aspects, advantages and novelfeatures of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the invention when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an example wirelessenvironment that includes macro cells and femto cells for wirelesscoverage in accordance with aspects described herein. In wirelessenvironment 100, two areas 105 represent cellular or “macro” coverage,each macro cell is served by a base station 110. It should beappreciated that macro cells 105 are illustrated as hexagons; however,macro cells can adopt other geometries generally dictated by adeployment configuration or floor plan, geographic areas to be covered(e.g., a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) or rural statistical area(RSA)), and so on. Cellular coverage is generally intended to servemobile wireless devices, like UE 120 _(A), in outdoors locations. Anover-the-air wireless link 115 provides such coverage, the wireless link115 comprises a downlink (DL) and an uplink (UL), and utilizes apredetermined band of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum. As an example,UE 120 _(A) can be a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) mobile phone. It isnoted that a base station, its associated electronics, circuitry orcomponents, and a wireless link operated in accordance to the basestation form a radio access network (RAN). In addition, base station 110communicates via backhaul link(s) 151 with a cellular network platform108, which in wireless technologies (e.g., 3GPP Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS), Global System for Mobile Communication(GSM)) typically represents a core network. In an aspect, cellularnetwork platform 108 controls a set of base stations 110 that serveeither respective cells or a number of sectors (not shown) within suchcells. Cellular network platform 108 also communicates with other basestations (not shown) that serve other cells (not shown). Backhaullink(s) 151 can include a wired backbone link (e.g., optical fiberbackbone; twisted-pair line; T1/E1 phone line; a digital subscriber line(DSL), either synchronous or asynchronous; an asymmetric DSL; a coaxialcable . . . ). Backhaul pipe(s) 155 links disparate base stations 110.

In wireless environment 100, within one or more macro coverage cell 105,a set of femto cells 125 served by respective femto access points (APs)130 can be deployed. While in illustrative wireless environment 100three femto cells are deployed per macro cell 105, aspects of thesubject application are geared to femto cell deployments withsubstantive femto AP density, e.g., 10³-10⁶ femto APs 130 per basestation 110. A femto cell 125 typically covers an area that includesconfined area 145, which is determined, at least in part, bytransmission power allocated to femto AP 130, path loss, shadowing, andso forth. While coverage area 125 and confined area 145 typicallycoincide, it should be appreciated that in certain deployment scenarios,coverage area 125 can include an outdoor portion (e.g., a parking lot, apatio deck, a recreation area such as a swimming pool and nearby space)while area 145 spans an enclosed living space. Coverage area typicallyis spanned by a coverage radius that ranges from 20 to 100 meters.Confined coverage area 145 is generally associated with an indoor spacesuch as a building, either residential (e.g., a house, a condominium, anapartment complex) or business (e.g., a library, a hospital, a retailstore), which encompasses a setting that can span about 5000 sq. ft.

A femto AP 130 typically serves a few (for example, 1-5) wirelessdevices (e.g., subscriber station 120 _(B)) within confined coveragearea 125 via a wireless link 135 which encompasses a downlink and anuplink. A femto network platform 109 can control such service, inaddition to mobility handover from cellular-to-femto and vice versa, andregistration and provisioning of femto APs. Control, or management, isfacilitated by backhaul link(s) 153 that connect deployed femto APs 130with femto network platform 109. Backhaul pipe(s) 153 are substantiallythe same as backhaul link(s) 151. In an aspect of the subjectapplication, part of the control is effected by femto AP 130 throughmeasurements of radio link conditions and other performance metrics. Itshould be appreciated that such measurements can dictate, at least inpart, handover events from cellular network coverage to femto networkcoverage; e.g., terminal 120 _(A) moves from coverage provided throughbase station 110 to coverage delivered via femto AP 130. Femto networkplatform 109 also includes components, e.g., nodes, gateways, andinterfaces, that facilitates packet-switched (PS) (e.g., internetprotocol (IP), frame relay protocol, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), .. . ) traffic and signaling generation for networked telecommunication.It should be appreciated that femto network platform 109, which controlsand manages femto coverage, can integrate seamlessly with substantiallyany packet switched (PS)-based and circuit switched (CS)-based networksuch as cellular network platform 108. Thus, operation with a wirelessdevice such as 120 _(A) is substantially straightforward and seamlesswhen handover from cellular-to-femto, or vice versa, takes place. As anexample, femto network platform 270, and thus femto AP(s) 130, canintegrate into an existing 3GPP Core Network via conventional interfaceslike Iu—CS, Iu—PS, Gi, Gn. It is to be noted that substantially allvoice or data active sessions associated with subscribers within femtocell coverage (e.g., area 125) are terminated once the femto AP 130 isshut down; in case of data sessions, data can be recovered at least inpart through a buffer (e.g., a memory) associated with a femto gatewaynode(s) at the femto network platform 109. Coverage of a suspended orhotlined subscriber station or associated account can be blocked overthe air-interface. However, if a suspended or hotlined customer who ownsa femto AP 130 is in “hotline”/“suspend” status, there is no substantiveimpact to the customers covered through the subject femto AP 130. Inanother aspect, femto AP 130 can exploit high-speed downlink packetaccess either via an interface with macro network platform 108 orthrough femto network platform 109 in order to accomplish substantivebitrates.

In addition, in yet another aspect, femto AP 130 has a LAC (locationarea code) and RAC (routing area code) that is different from theunderlying macro network. These LAC and RAC are used to identifysubscriber station location for a variety of reasons, most notably todirect incoming voice and data traffic to appropriate pagingtransmitters, and emergency calls as well. As a subscriber station(e.g., UE 120 _(A)) that exploits cellular coverage (e.g., cell 105)enters femto coverage (e.g., area 125), the subscriber station (e.g., UE120 _(A)) attempts to attach to the femto AP 130 through transmissionand reception of attachment signaling as part of a handover procedure.The signaling is effected via DL/UL 135; the attachment signaling caninclude a Location Area Update (LAU) and/or Routing Area Update (RAU)procedure. Such attachment attempts are a part of procedures to ensuremobility, so voice calls and data sessions can continue even after acellular-to-femto transition or vice versa. Conversely, if notsuccessful, UE 120 _(A) is generally commanded (through a variety ofcommunication means) to select another LAC/RAC or enter “emergency callsonly” mode. It is to be appreciated that this attempt and handlingprocess can occupy significant UE battery, and femto AP capacity andsignaling resources (e.g., communication of pilot sequences) as well. Itis to be noted that UE 120 _(A) can be employed seamlessly after eitherof the foregoing transitions. In addition, it should be appreciated thatfemto networks typically are designed to serve stationary or slow-movingtraffic with reduced signaling loads compared to cellular networks.

When an attachment attempt within a cellular-to-femto handover issuccessful, UE 120 _(A) is allowed on femto cell 125 and incoming voiceand data traffic are paged and routed to the subscriber through thefemto AP 130. As described below, in an aspect of the subjectapplication, paging and routing updates at a time UE 120 _(A) is handedoff are managed at least in part through femto network platform 109. Tofacilitate voice and data routing, and control signaling as well,successful attachment can be recorded in a memory register, e.g., aVisitor Location Register (VLR), or substantially any data structurestored in a network memory. It is to be noted also that packetcommunication (e.g., voice and data traffic, and signaling as well) istypically paged/routed through a backhaul link(s) 153. To this end,femto AP 130 is typically connected to backhaul link(s) 152 via abroadband modem (not shown) that resides within the femto AP. Throughbackhaul pipe(s) 153, a femto AP 130 can handle substantially anyquality of service (QoS) for heterogeneous packetized traffic (e.g.,multiple packet flows). In an aspect of the subject application, femtoAP 130 can display status indicators for power, active broadband/DSLconnection, and gateway connection. In another aspect, no landline isnecessary for operation of femto AP(s) 130.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example system 200 thatfacilitates packet data protocol (PDP) context management uponcellular-to-femto handover. Cellular network platform 210 serves amobile station 250 via a cellular RAN 240, which includes a set of basestations (e.g., (Node B 110) deployed in a market area (e.g., a setmacro cells 105) and a communication platform (e.g., antennas,transceivers and associated electronic circuitry, processor(s), amemory(ies) . . . ) in addition to wireless links to provide cellularcoverage in accordance with operation of the base station(s). CellularRAN 240 effects wireless communication via one or more radiofrequency(RF) resources, which typically include licensed RF bands such as thosewithin personal communication services (PCS), advanced wireless services(AWS), general wireless communications service (GWCS), and so forth.Upon cellular-to-femto handover, mobile station 250 is covered throughfemto cell service platform 270 via femto RAN 290. As mentioned above,it is to be appreciated that deployment density in femto RAN 290 issubstantially higher than in macro RAN 240.

In cellular network platform 210, server(s) 222 can provide dataservices which generate multiple disparate packetized data streams orflows associated with applications available to cellular networkplatform 210. Server(s) 222 can manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format .. . ) such flows. Among the various data services, or applications,server(s) 222 can provide the following: IP television, video- andsound-streaming, voice and data, mobile's firmware update(s), dataupload/download for on-the-cloud storage or web hosting, locationservices, online gaming, wireless banking, wireless device management,etc. Moreover, server(s) 222 can provision at least in part servicesfrom external service network(s) 228, e.g., (e.g., emergency locationservices, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), telephony network(s),WAN(s)/LAN(s), enterprise network(s), or signaling system #7 (SS7)network(s), or Global Positioning System (GPS) network(s). Furthermore,server(s) 222 can effect security (e.g., implement one or morefirewalls) of cellular network platform 210 to ensure network'soperation and data integrity. Server(s) 282 in femto network platformpossess substantially the same functionality as server(s) 222.

Data streams generated through data services can be conveyed to gatewaynode(s) 214, which can comprise circuit switched (CS) gateway node(s)and packet switched (PS) gateway node(s), forauthorization/authentication and initiation of a data session to consumesuch data streams. In an aspect, authentication can be implementedthrough an authentication component (not shown) which can implementremote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS). As part ofauthentication of a data session, gateway node(s) 214 can generatepacket data protocol (PDP) context(s) when a data session is authorizedand established. Upon generation of a PDP context, a private logicalnetwork address (e.g., an IP address) and port for a served mobilestation 250 is created and conveyed to serving node(s) for routingpurposes. An active PDP context (e.g., PDP context 2) is retained withingateway node(s) 218 and serving node(s) 226; even though active PDPcontexts are pictorially presented as external to gateway node(s) 214and serving node(s) 218. As indicated above, gateway node(s) 214receives data packets from applications (e.g., a web browser) providedthrough server(s) 222 and service network(s) 228; such data is receivedin accordance with APNs in active PDP contexts, wherein disparate APNsreference disparate gateway node(s). Data packets received at gatewaynode(s) 214 are relayed to serving node(s) 218 in accordance toscheduled QoS for respective active PDP contexts. Serving node(s) 218routes packetized flows of such data packets, or data streams, inaccordance with the information retained in active PDP contexts, and the

. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, gateway node(s) 214 can beembodied in gateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN), while serving node(s)218 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

In an aspect, each of M active PDP contexts 216 have distinct accesspoint names (APNs); such PDP contexts can be activated either troughmobile station 250 or cellular network platform 210. Networkcapabilities generally dictate a maximum number M_(MAX) (a positiveinteger; e.g., M_(MAX)=3) of allowed active contexts associated withmobile station 250. In addition to an APN, an active PDP contextincludes a quality of service (QoS) profile, e.g., a QoS scheduled bycellular network platform 210 in accordance with subscriber type.Subscribers with an agreed quality of QoS (e.g., maximum DL or UL biterror rate(s), average packet error rate(s), or block error rate(s);guaranteed DL or UL bit rate . . . ) are scheduled at such level,whereas best effort QoS can be provided to subscribers with soft QoSrequirements. Moreover, an active PDP context(s) has an associated radioaccess bearer (RAB) configured through cellular network platform 210 inaccordance with the QoS profile of the PDP context.

In an aspect of the subject application, when it is determined tohandover mobile station 250 from cellular coverage to femto cellcoverage, which is provided through femto cell network platform 270 andfemto RAN 290, a PDP context management component 226 facilitatesretention of active data service(s) that provides data packets (e.g.,for a voice call or data session). It should be appreciated thatfeatures of PDP context management component 226 discussed hereinafterare substantially independent whether mobile station 250 or a basestation within cellular RAN 240 initiates cellular-to-femto handoversignaling.

PDP context management component 226 acquires network capabilityinformation of the femto cell; e.g., the maximum number N (a positiveinteger) of PDP contexts with different APN that are supported by afemto cell (e.g., femto AP 130) managed through femto network platform270. It should be appreciated that N≦M_(MAX). As an example, N=1, whichcan be a scenario in an early deployment of femto cell(s) for confinedindoor coverage, with the femto coverage managed or controlled in partthrough femto network platform 270.

In addition, PDP context management component 226 compares the activityfactor of the M active PDP contexts 216 and application associatedtherewith. Activity factor can be a logical binary variable thatassesses the activity of an application or data service assigned anactive APN; a logic NULL value for an inactive application, or dataservice, and a logic non-NULL value otherwise. At a time ofcellular-to-femto handover, active PDP context(s) with non-NULL activityfactor can be considered for handover evaluation and preparation,whereas PDP context(s) with NULL activity factors can be suspended. Asan example, an email application in mobile station 250 may not bereceiving an email message from an email server at a time of handover,and thus the application has a NULL activity factor and is notcontemplated for handover, even though it is associated with an activePDP context. As another example, a web-based commercial transaction maybe in process at a time of cellular-to-femto handover; thus, an activePDP associated with a web browser application that facilitates thetransaction has non-NULL activity factor.

For the set of M′ PDP contexts that have non-NULL activity factor, PDPcontext management component compares respective QoS profiles andgenerates a PDP context ranking 264, which can be conveyed to femtonetwork platform 270. It should be appreciated that such set can includeall M PDP contexts 216. Based on the maximum number N of PDP contextswith disparate APN supported by femto network platform, PDP context(s)262 with the highest QoS rank(s) can be handed-over to the femto cell,while the other M-N contexts, and associated applications, aresuspended. The N handed-over PDP contexts 284 are anchored in femtogateway node(s) 274 and serving node(s) 278; an application or dataservice associated with the handed-over PDP context remains to executewithin server(s) 222 or service network(s) 228. PDP context managementcomponent maintains suspended PDP contexts until a first handed off PDPcontext is completed and released. In a scenario where N=1, a singleapplication is maintained through cellular-to-femto handover.

In an aspect of the subject application, a indication of the foregoingselection of active PDP contexts to be retained, and suspended, throughhandover of mobile station 250 to femto coverage, can be conveyed tomobile station 250 as part of preparation for handoff. The selectionindication can be embodied in an email, an instant message (IM), a shortmessage service (SMS) communication, a ringtone or another predeterminedsound, and the like. In addition to the latter high-level formats, theselection indication can be a low-level signal (e.g., an P-bit word,with P a positive integer) transported in a control channel. Theindication in mobile station 250 can prompt an end user for confirmationor rejection of the cellular network platform 210 selection of activePDP contexts to retain or to suspend upon handover. A rejectionindication, can further prompt the end user to select a disparate set ofactive PDP contexts to maintain during handover, and a set to suspendduring handover; PDP context selection 266 can be conveyed to cellularnetwork platform. At least one advantage of subscriber selection of PDPcontexts to retain is that final decision making can lay with thesubscriber, and thus user experience is richer and more satisfactory forthe subscriber.

When a handed-over PDP context is terminated, or released, femto cellnetwork can initiate the resume of a suspended PDP context, with anon-NULL activity factor at a time of preparation for handover, based atleast in part on the PDP context QoS-ranking or a PDP context selection266 received from mobile station 250. In an aspect, a femto cell towhich mobile station 250 has been handed off can trigger a PDP contextmodification of a highest QoS-ranking suspended PDP context; PDPmanagement component 286 can trigger such request. Such request can beconveyed (e.g., signaling 268) through femto network platform 270 toserving node(s) 218 (e.g., SGSN in a 3GPP UMTS network) to changerouting of the suspended PDP context to a gateway node in femto gatewaynode(s) 274 per the new APN. In an aspect, the gateway node in femtogateway node(s) 274 conveys the new APN to serving node(s) 278. Itshould be appreciated that the new APN facilitates connection toapplication server(s) 282, which generates data packets for the handedover mobile station 250. Moreover, femto gateway node(s) 274 can receivedata packets from server(s) 222 and service network(s) 228 throughreference point, or link, 260, via the new APN. (It should be noted thatthe gateway node that anchors the new APN in femto gateway node(s) 274can be embodied, e.g., in a GGSN when femto network platform interfaceswith a 3GPP UMTS cellular network.) PDP management component 286 canexploit a PDP context ranking 264, received through reference point, orlink, 260, in order to determine a PDP context to resume once ahanded-over PDP context is released. Upon completion of contextmodification of the suspended PDP context, the femto cell in femto RAN290 to which the mobile station 250 was handed over can resume thesuspended PDP context through femto network platform 270. Additionally,femto network platform 270 can reconfigure, via PDP context managementcomponent 286, a radio access bearer (RAB) associated with the releasedPDP context in accordance with the QoS requirements of the resumed PDPcontext in order to ensure that bandwidth, delay, and other QoSpriorities are met. The reconfigured RAB is associated with the resumedPDP context.

Once a RAB is configured for a resumed PDP context, data servicesprovided through server(s) 282 can deliver data packets to gatewaynode(s) 274 to serve mobile station 250 after cellular-to-femto handoveris complete. Data packet(s) are generated through execution ofapplication(s) that provides service (e.g., voice and data) to wirelessdevices served through femto RAN 290. Server(s) 1082 can also providesecurity features to femto network platform. In addition, server(s) 282can manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) substantially allpacketized flows (e.g., IP-based, frame relay-based, ATM-based) itgenerates in addition to data received from macro network platform 1010.Furthermore, server(s) 282 can effect provisioning of femto cellservice, and effect operations and maintenance.

It is to be noted that in addition to the functionality describedherein, femto gateway node(s) 274 have substantially the samefunctionality as gateway node(s) 214. Likewise, femto serving node(s)278 can include substantially all functionality of serving node(s) 218.Femto serving node(s) 278 can control or operate disparate sets ofdeployed femto APs, which can be a part of femto RAN 1090, and conveytraffic and signaling via the deployed femto APs in accordance withactive PDP contexts 284, which can be configured as described in thesubject application during cellular-to-femto handover.

At least one advantage of the subject application is that, rather thanto drop active RABs and various PDP contexts each with different APNsfor different gateway node(s) 214 (e.g., GGSNs in a 3GPP UMTS network)routing, it maintains substantially the same level of service forselected application(s) as a mobile station is handed over from cellularnetwork coverage to femto cell coverage. Such an advantage provides asmoother user experience upon cellular-to-femto handover. It should beappreciated that the latter is accomplished even though capability inthe femto network platform to serve applications with different APNs andQoS profiles can be lower than in the cellular network platform.

It is to be noted that a processor (not shown, but which can residedwithin server(s) 222 and server(s) 282) and other electronic circuitry(not shown) can effect the functionality of substantially allcomponents, nodes and interfaces in serving network platform 210 andcellular RAN 240, and femto network platform 270 and femto RAN 290 aswell. To effect such functionality, the processor can execute codeinstructions retained in a memory (e.g., memory 230 and memory 288).

Additionally, in example system 200, memory 230 can store information onsubscriber(s) selection(s) of PDP context rankings of PDP contexts tosuspend or to retain during cellular-to-femto handover. Moreover, memory230 can retain information related to operation of cellular networkplatform 210. Information can include, but is not limited to, businessdata associated with subscribers; market plans and strategies, e.g.,promotional campaigns, business partnerships; operational data formobile devices served through macro network platform; service andprivacy policies; end-user service logs for law enforcement; and soforth. Furthermore, memory 230 can store information from servicenetwork(s) 228.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example embodiment 300 of a PDP contextmanagement component in accordance with aspects described herein. PDPcontext management component 310 can be employed in cellular networkplatform 210 or femto network platform 270. It should be appreciatedthat different functionalities of the components that comprise PDPcontext management component 310 can be exploited based on networkplatform. A monitor component 325 can survey various signaling (e.g.,signaling 268) associated with handover; PDP context activity, oractivity of an application associated with a PDP context; PDP contextrelease; PDP context modification; femto network platform capability;PDP context selection (e.g., PDP context selection 266) received from auser equipment (e.g., mobile station 250) in preparation for handover.Information collected by monitor component 315 can be exploited toselect PDP contexts to retain or suspend during cellular-to-femtohandover. In an aspect, monitor component 325 can determine the activityfactor of respective data service or application associated with a setof active PDP contexts. As discussed above, such information can beemployed to determine a PDP context selection, which can be retained ina memory element 342 in memory 340.

In another aspect, when PDP context management component 310 operateswithin cellular network platform 210, monitor component 315 can coveyinformation on active PDP contexts to ranking component 325, which canrank the active PDP contexts according to respective QoS profiles.Ranking component can retain PDP context ranking(s) in a memory element344 in memory 340. In addition, monitor component 325 can receive anindication of a confirmation or rejection of a network-based PDP contextselection, or a subscriber selection of PDP contexts to retain orsuspend during handover.

Ranking component 325 can aggregate subscriber-injected PDP contextselection and utilize it to infer future PDP context selections andrankings; historic PDP context selection can be stored in memory element342 in memory 340. Ranking component 325 can exploit artificialintelligence (AI) methods to infer (e.g., reason and draw a conclusionbased upon a set of metrics, arguments, or known outcomes in controlledscenarios) suitable PDP context selections for cellular-to-femtohandover for a specific subscriber. Artificial intelligence techniquestypically apply advanced mathematical algorithms—e.g., decision trees,neural networks, regression analysis, principal component analysis (PCA)for feature and pattern extraction, cluster analysis, genetic algorithm,or reinforced learning—to a data set; e.g., the collected subscriberintelligence in the case of subscriber segmentation. In particular,ranking component 325 can employ one of numerous methodologies forlearning from data and then drawing inferences from the models soconstructed. For example, Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and relatedprototypical dependency models can be employed. General probabilisticgraphical models, such as Dempster-Shafer networks and Bayesian networkslike those created by structure search using a Bayesian model score orapproximation can also be utilized. In addition, linear classifiers,such as support vector machines (SVMs), non-linear classifiers likemethods referred to as “neural network” methodologies, fuzzy logicmethodologies can also be employed. Moreover, game theoretic models(e.g., game trees, game matrices, pure and mixed strategies, utilityalgorithms, Nash equilibria, evolutionary game theory, etc.) and otherapproaches that perform data fusion, etc., can be exploited.

Alternatively, or in addition, when PDP context management component 310operates in femto network platform 270, monitor component 325 can retaina received PDP context ranking (e.g., PDP context ranking 264) within amemory element 344 in memory 340. Retention of a ranking of PDP contextssuspended prior to cellular-to-femto handover facilitates to resume PDPafter a handed-over PDP context is released.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment 400 of a mobile station thatcan select PDP contexts to retain and suspend through cellular-to-femtohandover in accordance with aspects of the subject application. Inmobile 410, which can be a multimode access terminal, a set of antennas469 ₁-469 _(K) (K is a positive integer) can receive and transmitsignal(s) from and to wireless devices like access points, accessterminals, wireless ports and routers, and so forth, that operate in aradio access network, e.g., cellular RAN 240 or femto RAN 290. It shouldbe appreciated that antennas 469 ₁-469 _(K) are a part of communicationplatform 425, which comprises electronic components and associatedcircuitry that provide for processing and manipulation of receivedsignal(s) and signal(s) to be transmitted. In an aspect, communicationplatform 425 includes receiver(s)/transmitter(s) 466 that can convertsignal from analog to digital upon reception, and from digital to analogupon transmission. In addition, receiver/transmitter 466 can divide asingle data stream into multiple, parallel data streams, or perform thereciprocal operation; such operations typically conducted in variousmultiplexing schemes. Functionally coupled to receiver(s)/transmitter(s)466 is a multiplexer/demultiplexer (mux/demux) component 467 thatfacilitates manipulation of signal in time and frequency space.Electronic mux/demux component 467 can multiplex information(data/traffic and control/signaling) according to various multiplexingschemes such as time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM),code division multiplexing (CDM), space division multiplexing (SDM). Inaddition, mux/demux component 467 can scramble and spread information(e.g., codes) according to substantially any code; e.g., Hadamard-Walshcodes, Baker codes, Kasami codes, polyphase codes, and so on. Amodulator/demodulator (mod/demod) component 468 is also a part ofcommunication platform 425, and can modulate information according tovarious modulation techniques, such as frequency modulation (e.g.,frequency-shift keying), amplitude modulation (e.g., Q-ary quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM), with Q a positive integer; amplitude-shiftkeying (ASK)), phase-shift keying (PSK), and the like. In an aspect ofembodiment 400, mod/demod component 468 is functionally coupled tomux/demux component 467.

In embodiment 400, multimode operation chipset(s) 415 allows mobile 410to operate in multiple communication modes, which can exploit variousdisparate electromagnetic (EM) radiation frequency bands, in accordancewith disparate technical specification for wireless technologies. Forexample, mobile station can operate in a portion of RF frequencyspectrum in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mode when servedthrough a cellular RAN, while it can operate in a disparate RF frequencyband in single-input multiple-output mode (SIMO) when served via a femtoRAN. In an aspect, multimode operation chipset(s) 415 utilizescommunication platform 425 in accordance with a specific mode ofoperation and portion of EM radiation frequency spectrum. In anotheraspect, multimode operation chipset(s) 415 can be scheduled to operateconcurrently (e.g., when K>1) in various modes or within a multitaskparadigm.

Mobile 410 can include PDP context selector component 418, which canreceive signaling associated with an indication of a selection of activePDP contexts to be retained and suspended at a time of handover fromcellular coverage to femto coverage, and convey that signaling to an enduser of mobile station 410 via display interface 445. In addition, PDPcontext selector 418 can convey a confirmation or rejection indicationof a network-based selection of PDP contexts to maintain active andsuspend during handover. Such indication can be an L-bit (L is apositive integer) word conveyed in a control channel, in one or moremanagement in-band frames, or in a data packet. Moreover, PDP contextselector 418 can deliver signaling associated with a subscriberselection of PDP contexts, wherein the selection includes a ranking orordering of active PDP contexts selected to be suspended uponcellular-to-femto handover. The ranking or ordering facilitates a resumesequence of active PDP contexts once a handover PDP context is released.In an aspect, display interface 445 delivers a network-based selectionof active PDP contexts to be suspended and retained upon handover fromcellular to femto coverage, and prompts an end user to confirm or rejectsuch selection. Delivery of the network-based PDP context selection, anda prompt to confirm or reject it can be accomplished through pop-upwindow(s), a token in an email or instant messenger, a ringtoneaccompanied with visual indicia, and so forth. End user input regardingrejection or confirmation of the network-based selection of PDP contextbehavior during handover can be entered via data entry interface 448.Data entry interface 448 facilitates inputting information like arejection or a confirmation of a network-based selection of PDP contextsvia various mechanisms such as key strokes, screen touch,biometric-based input or gesture (e.g., voice command), and so on. Incase an end user rejects a cellular network-based selection, the enduser is prompted to enter, via data entry interface 448, a PDP contextselection and associated behavior, e.g., PDP context for suspension orretention.

Mobile 410 also includes a processor 435 configured to conferfunctionality, at least in part, to substantially any component withinmobile 410, in accordance with aspects of the subject application. As anexample, processor 435 can be configured to execute, at least in part,instructions in multimode operation chipset(s) that afford multimodecommunication through mobile 410 like concurrent or multitask operationof two or more chipset(s). Additionally, processor 435 facilitatesmobile 410 to process data (e.g., symbols, bits, or chips) formultiplexing/demultiplexing, modulation/demodulation, such asimplementing direct and inverse fast Fourier transforms, selection ofmodulation rates, selection of data packet formats, inter-packet times,etc. Memory 455 can store data structures (e.g., metadata); codestructure(s) (e.g., modules, objects, classes, procedures) orinstructions; network or device information like policies andspecifications, attachment protocols; code sequences for scrambling,spreading and pilot (e.g., reference signal(s)) transmission; frequencyoffsets, cell IDs, and so on.

In embodiment 400, processor 435 is functionally coupled (e.g., througha memory bus) to memory 455 in order to store and retrieve informationnecessary to operate and/or confer functionality, at least in part, tocommunication platform 425, multimode operation chipset(s) 415, andother operational aspects of multimode mobile 410.

In view of the example systems described above, example methodologiesthat can be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject mattercan be better appreciated with reference to flowcharts in FIGS. 5-8. Forpurposes of simplicity of explanation, example methodologies disclosedherein are presented and described as a series of acts; however, it isto be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is notlimited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur in different ordersand/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and describedherein. For example, a methodology disclosed herein could alternativelybe represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as ina state diagram. Moreover, interaction diagram(s) may representmethodologies in accordance with the disclosed subject matter whendisparate entities enact disparate portions of the methodologies.Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement amethodology in accordance with the subject specification. Further yet,two or more of the disclosed methodologies can be implemented incombination with each other, to accomplish one or more features oradvantages herein described. It should be further appreciated that themethodologies disclosed throughout the subject specification are capableof being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transportingand transferring such methodologies to computers for execution by one ormore processors or for storage in a memory.

FIG. 5 presents a flowchart of an example method 500 for managing PDPcontexts during a cellular-to-femto handover of a mobile stationaccording to aspects disclosed herein. In an aspect, example method 500can be effected by a cellular network platform (see FIG. 2). At act 510,activity of a set of PDP contexts is compared upon a cellular-to-femtohandover request. In an aspect, such request can be signaled from amobile station to a cellular network platform (e.g., cellular networkplatform 108) after a determination to attach to a femto cell is made(e.g., radio link quality is below a predetermined value as a result ofentering an indoors femto cell coverage area, femto cell pilot signal isreceived . . . ). The number of PDP contexts that are compared can bedetermined by the number of PDP contexts with disparate APNs that acellular network platform can support for a served mobile station. Atact 520, a subset of PDP contexts that are inactive in the set ofcompared PDP contexts are suspended. At act 530, a subset of M (aninteger greater or equal than zero) active PDP contexts in the set ofcompared PDP contexts are ranked based at least in part on QoS profile(e.g., required quality of service such as packet loss rate, block errorrate, packet error rate, bit error rate for one or more applications)for each PDP context. At act 540, the ranking of the M active PDPcontexts is conveyed. In an aspect, the ranking is conveyed to a femtonetwork platform (see FIG. 2). At act 550, a group of N (with N apositive integer) active ranked PDP contexts with the N highest rankingof QoS requirements is handed over. The value of N can be acquired inconjunction with other network capability information from a femto cellnetwork platform through adequate signaling as part of handover. At act560, a group of M-N active ranked PDP contexts without the N highestrankings of QoS requirements are suspended.

FIG. 6 presents a flowchart of an example method 600 for selecting PDPcontexts to hand off during a cellular-to-femto handover according toaspects of the subject application. It should be appreciated thatexample method 600 can be employed in conjunction with example method500 in order to inject subscriber decision-making regarding PDP contextsto be retained through a handover process. At act 610, an indication ofa selection of an active PDP context for handover and a group of activePDP contexts for suspension is conveyed. In an aspect, the selection isconveyed to a mobile station that enters a femto cell coverage area froma macro cell. It should be appreciated that the selection of active PDPcontexts for handover can be implemented through a ranking of QoSrequirements of various PDP contexts and associated application(s), orvia an inference based upon historic data on subscriber-drivenselections. At act 620, an indication is received for eitherconfirmation or rejection of the selection of the active PDP context forhandover and the group of active PDP contexts for suspension. At act630, it is checked whether a confirmation indication has been received.In the affirmative outcome, the selected active PDP context is handedoff at act 650. Conversely, at 640 it is evaluated whether a PDP contextselection is received. In the affirmative case, flow is directed to act650 and the selected PDP contexts are handed off. In the negative, flowis directed to act 610. At act 660, a selected group of active PDPcontexts that do not include the active PDP context selected forhandover is suspended. It should be appreciated that the selected PDPcontexts that are suspended can arise from a cellular networkplatform-based selection and conveyed to an end user of a mobile stationthat hands over from cellular to femto, or it can arise from a PDPcontext selection received by the cellular network platform.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 for utilization of activePDP contexts during a cellular-to-femto handover according with aspectsof the subject application. In an aspect, example method 700 can beenacted by a femto network platform that serves a femto cell to which amobile station is to be handed off from the cellular coverage to femtocoverage. At act 710, an active PDP context is received. At act 720, aranking of active PDP contexts suspended in preparation for handover isreceived, the ranking can be based at least in part on QoS requirements.Additionally, the ranking can be based on subscriber input. (i) Aranking of active PDP contexts suspended in preparation for handover canarise from a direct subscriber selection. (ii) A ranking can beautonomously inferred based at least in part on historic data onprevious subscriber selections of active PDP contexts suspended prior tohandover effected by a served subscriber that is to be handover fromcellular coverage to femto coverage. At act 730 it is checked whether anactive PDP context is terminated, or released. In the affirmative case,resume of highest-ranking suspended active PDP context is initiated atact 740. Conversely, evaluation act 730 is re-enacted. At act 750, PDPcontext modification of the highest-ranking suspended PDP context to beresumed is requested. Such a request can be triggered by a femto networkplatform (see, e.g., FIG. 2). At act 760 it is checked whether PDPcontext modification, of the highest-ranking suspended PDP context iscompleted. In the affirmative case, at act 770, the highest-ranking PDPcontext is resumed and a radio access bearer (RAB) associated with theterminated, or released, PDP context is configured based at least inpart on a required QoS for the resumed PDP context. When at act 760 PDPcontext modification is not completed, the evaluation act 760 isre-enacted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method for injecting subscriberinput in management of PDP contexts during cellular-to-femto accordingto aspects described herein. It should be appreciated that examplemethod can be enacted through a mobile station that undergoes thehandover. At act 810, an indication of a selection of a first set ofactive PDP contexts for handover and a second set of active PDP contextsfor suspension is received. In an aspect of the subject application, theindication prompts a subscriber that exploits the active PDP contextsthrough cellular network coverage to accept or rejection theselection(s) of active PDP contexts to retain or suspend. Suchindication can be embodied in a SMS communication, a multimedia messageservice (MMS) communication, a pop-up window(s), an instant message, andso on. The indication can be accompanied with aural indicia such as aringtone, a vibration interval of a mobile station that receives theindication, and so forth. At act 820, an indication of either aconfirmation or rejection of the selection of the first set of activePDP contexts for handover and the second set of active PDP contexts forsuspension is conveyed. In an aspect, such indication is inputted by anend user of a mobile station that undergoes handover. At act 830, it isevaluated whether a rejection has been conveyed. In the negative case,example method 800 terminates at act 840. In the affirmative case, twogroups of active PDP contexts are selected at act 850: a first group ofreceived PDP contexts for handover, and a second group of received PDPcontexts for suspension. At act 860, the selection of active PDPcontexts for handover and suspension is conveyed. Delivery of theselection can be accomplished through a service base station, which is apart of the cellular RAN (see FIG. 2) utilized to provide cellularservice.

It is to be noted that aspects, features, or advantages of the subjectapplication described in the subject specification can be exploited inhandover among substantially any pair of wireless communicationtechnologies, such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Enhanced GPRS, 3GPP LTE, 3GPP2 UMB,3GPP UMTS, HSPA, or Zigbee.

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures suchas, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors,switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhanceperformance of user equipment. A processor may also be implemented as acombination of computing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “data store,” datastorage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storagecomponent relevant to operation and functionality of a component, referto “memory components,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or componentscomprising the memory. It will be appreciated that the memory componentsdescribed herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, orcan include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory componentsof systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without beinglimited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In addition, various aspects disclosed in the subject specification canbe implemented through program modules stored in a memory (e.g., memory230 or memory 288) and executed by a processor, or other combination ofhardware and software, or hardware and firmware. Moreover, variousaspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as used hereinis intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-raydisc (BD . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card,stick, key drive . . . ).

What has been described above includes examples of systems and methodsthat provide advantages of the subject application. It is, of course,not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components ormethodologies for purposes of describing the subject application, butone of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many furthercombinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter arepossible. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,”“possesses,” and the like are used in the detailed description, claims,appendices and drawings such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpretedwhen employed as a transitional word in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memorythat stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: comparing aset of activity levels corresponding to a set of active packet dataprotocol contexts and ranking a subset of the set of active packet dataprotocol contexts based on a quality of service requirement of anapplication associated with the subset of the set of active packet dataprotocol contexts; facilitating a transfer, from cellular devicecoverage to femtocell network device coverage, of an active packet dataprotocol context of the subset of active packet data protocol contextswith a defined level of the quality of service requirement in responseto receiving a selection of the active packet data protocol context;suspending another active packet data protocol context of the set ofactive packet data protocol contexts that was not transferred; signalinga cellular network device to modify a highest ranking suspended packetdata protocol context; and resuming the highest ranking suspended packetdata protocol context after a transferred active packet data protocolcontext has been released.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving an indication of a confirmationthat the subset of active packet data protocol contexts has beenselected, and wherein the confirmation is based on input received via amobile device user interface.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: conveying a confirmation of another set ofactive packet data protocol contexts different from the set of activepacket data protocol contexts.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theoperations further comprise: suspending the subset of packet protocolcontexts in response to receiving the confirmation of the other set. 5.The system of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise:facilitating a conveyance of information representing the ranking of thesubset of active packet data protocol contexts.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein the operations further comprise: selecting the subset ofactive packet data protocol contexts based on an inferred ranking of thesubset of active packet data protocol contexts based upon historicalconfirmations received via a mobile device user interface.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: analyzinghistorical confirmations of selections of transferred active packet dataprotocol contexts to generate prediction data about future active packetdata protocol context selections.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: maintaining the other active packet dataprotocol context as suspended until the transfer of the active packetdata protocol context is determined to have completed.
 9. A method,comprising: ranking, by a system comprising a processor, quality ofservice requirements of active packet data protocol contexts based onother quality of service requirements of an application associated withthe active packet data protocol contexts; facilitating, by the system,transferring a set of active packet data protocol contexts selected fromthe active packet data protocol contexts from cellular device coverageto femtocell device coverage in response to receiving a selection of theset of active packet data protocol contexts; suspending, by the system,a second set of packet data protocol contexts that are not in the set ofactive packet data protocol contexts resulting in suspended packet dataprotocol contexts; in response to a release of the set of active packetdata protocol contexts, requesting, by the system, packet data protocolcontext modification of a suspended packet data protocol context of thesuspended packet data protocol contexts that is determined to satisfy adefined criterion; and resuming, by the system, a highest ranking activepacket data protocol context of the active packet data protocol contextsin response to completion of the packet data protocol contextmodification.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving,by the system, a confirmation of the selection of the set of activepacket data protocol contexts from the active packet data protocolcontexts, wherein the confirmation is based on input received via amobile device user interface and wherein the selection is based on theranking of the quality of service requirements.
 11. The method of claim9, further comprising: maintaining, by the system, the suspended packetdata protocol contexts until the transferring of the set of activepacket data protocol contexts is determined to have completed.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the set of active packet data protocolcontexts have rankings that have been determined to satisfy a criterionwith respect to a quality of service for the application, and a numberof the set of active packet data protocol contexts is determined basedon a determined femtocell network device capability.
 13. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the facilitating the transferring of the set of activepacket data protocol contexts comprises: conveying an indication of asecond selection of the second set of packet data protocol contexts forsuspension; and suspending the second set of packet data protocolcontexts in response to receiving a confirmation of the secondselection.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: conveying, bythe system, a ranking of the active packet data protocol contexts to afemtocell network device.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein theselection of the set of active packet data protocol contexts is based onan inferred ranking of the set of active packet data protocol contextsbased upon historical confirmations received via a mobile device userinterface.
 16. A computer-readable storage device comprising executableinstructions that, in response to execution, cause a device comprising aprocessor to perform operations, comprising: ranking quality of servicecharacteristics of active packet data protocol contexts based on aquality of service requirement of an application associated with theactive packet data protocol contexts; in response to receiving aconfirmation of a selection of a set of active packet data protocolcontexts of the active packet data protocol contexts having a rankedquality of service characteristic that satisfies a defined rankingcriterion for applications associated with the active packet dataprotocol contexts, facilitating transferring, from a cellular networkdevice to a femtocell network device, the set of active packet dataprotocol contexts; suspending an active packet data protocol context ofthe active packet data protocol contexts that was not transferredresulting in the active packet data protocol context being included insuspended packet data protocol contexts; signaling the cellular networkdevice to modify a highest ranking suspended packet data protocolcontext of the suspended packet data protocol contexts; and resuming thehighest ranking suspended packet data protocol context after atransferred active packet data protocol context has been determined tohave been released.
 17. The computer-readable storage device of claim16, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving the confirmationof the selection of the set of active packet data protocol contexts fromthe active packet data protocol contexts based on input received from amobile device user interface and wherein the selection is based on theranked quality of service characteristic.
 18. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:maintaining the packet data protocol context in suspension until thetransferring of the set of active packet data protocol contexts isdetermined to be complete.
 19. The computer-readable storage device ofclaim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: conveying a rankingof the active packet data protocol contexts to a femtocell networkplatform device.
 20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16,wherein the operations further comprise: conveying an indication of asecond selection of a second set of packet data protocol contexts forsuspension; and suspending the second set of active packet data protocolcontexts in response to receiving a second confirmation of the secondselection.